High performance chemical liquid chromatography, also known as high pressure chemical liquid chromatography and HPLC, is a commonly used analytical procedure and machine which involves the use of a plurality of different chemical liquids whereby a plurality of different chemical liquids flow through the chromatograph to analyze the chemical composition of the plurality of different chemical liquids. HPLC also requires the use of a storage container in which, upon completion of the analytical procedure, the plurality of different chemical liquids is accumulated and stored. Furthermore it is common for the plurality of different chemical liquids to include at least one chemical liquid that is hazardous.
It is known in the art that a storage container for storing chemical liquids from an HPLC machine must be fully sealed to prevent the chemical liquids from evaporating into the atmosphere. This is even more important when a hazardous chemical liquid is used. Over time the hazardous chemical liquid will also evaporate into the atmosphere, and may come into contact or even be inhaled by humans and animals. Inhaling hazardous chemical liquid vapor is even more likely when the plurality of different chemical liquids is stored within an enclosed or semi-closed environment like a laboratory.
Caps and filtration systems that reside on the storage container in an effort to seal the storage container have been devised to reduce and even eliminate chemical liquid from evaporating into the environment. Over time, caps were further developed to enable the insertion of a supply tube in an effort to seal the storage container while still supplying chemical liquids. The purpose of the supply tube is to transport chemical liquids from the HPLC machine to the storage container when collecting. The supply tube was also designed to insert directly through a hole in the cap and into the storage container. Multiple holes in caps were then developed such that one storage container may receive a plurality of chemical liquids. Furthermore it was found that providing a means for securing the supply tube to the cap was desirable. Therefore ports were developed in the cap which often comprise of a threaded means to enable a secure method of attaching a supply tube to the cap.
Although the further developments in caps as described above have reduced and even eliminated hazardous chemical liquid from evaporating into the environment when using a storage container to accumulate and store chemical liquids from an HPLC machine or a machine that requires an accumulation and storage means for chemical liquids or solvents, the caps still have limitations.
One limitation in the design is realized when a plurality of supply tubes are attached to a cap where the number of supply tubes are limited by the surface area of the cap. Furthermore, when a plurality of supply tubes are attached to a cap, attaching each additional tube becomes difficult due to the limitation of space for one's fingers or for tools to enable the attachment of the supply tube to the cap.
Another limitation is realized when removing a cap from a storage container where a gasket is used to create a seal between the cap and the storage container. In practice, when the cap is removed from the storage container the gasket often remains connected to the storage container. In fact, often times the gasket is damaged during removal of the cap and is removed in pieces. These pieces often referred to as gasket debris fall through the fill aperture and into the storage container thereby contaminating the chemical liquid held in the storage container.